A-B-C-D-E MODEL OF ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION

REBT or Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy was developed mainly at the computational
level. This was introduced by Albert Ellis. Ellis’s proposal that cognition, emotions, and
behaviours are inseparable and organized together as a ‘whole’ might be tested and detailed
by elaborating specific computational models, namely semantic networks and connectionist
models. Under the ABCDE Model, there exist 5 main components that are mentioned below.

1. Activating Events (A): In REBT, A stands for Activating Event, which may be
external or internal. REBT assumes that human beings are purposeful and goal-
seeking and that they always bring to ‘A’ general and specific goal. Although REBT
theorists argue that A virtually never exists in a pure form, and it always interacts with
or partially includes people’s Belief System and their goals. Theorists might say that
in REBT, ‘A’ is just an opportunity to initiate the process of the discovery of Beliefs
and that one does not really need to focus on such details on ‘A’. The Activating
Effect may have an influence or stimulate certain Beliefs one might want to develop
subliminal stimulation techniques to use in addition to current REBT treatment.

2. Beliefs (B): Beliefs in the broad sense involve both a mental representation and a
positive assessment of meaningful information. Response expectancies are beliefs
about non-volitional outcomes and they:
- Are sufficient to cause non-non-volitional outcomes
- Are not mediated by other’s psychological mechanisms
- Are self confirming while seeming automatic.
Even if the primary mechanisms in the development of psychopathology involve
individual beliefs, later, symptomatology once generated by individual’s beliefs may
come under the control of and may be maintained by response expectancy sets. Ellis
(1962) divides evaluative beliefs into two types
- Rational Beliefs that includes: Pragmatic, Logical or Non-absolutist Beliefs,
Reality-Based and Flexible
 - Irrational Beliefs that includes: Non-Pragmatic, Illogical, Non-Reality based
Beliefs and Rigid.

3. Emotional Consequences (C): This represents emotional, behavioural and cognitive

consequences of rational and irrational beliefs. Since REBT aims to be not only a
cognitive model of psychopathology, but also a general theory of emotion, in REBT,
this usually refers to the emotional experiences. In REBT, there is a clear distinction
between practical problems and emotional problems. While practical problems are
related to the activating events, emotional problems are the direct consequences of the
interaction between the irrational beliefs and practical problems, and secondary
emotional problems refer to the tendency of people to disturb themselves over the
disturbances.

4. Disputation (D): This refers to disputation and cognitive emotive dissonance. The
aim of the REBT is to enhance adaptive emotive emotions by enhancing rational
beliefs and this is only done by disputing the irrational beliefs and by assimilating
new effective ways of responses through the rational beliefs. Disputation of irrational
beliefs and the assimilation of rational beliefs can greatly benefit from cognitive
research. By the end of cognitive disputation, although clients recognize consciously
that their past beliefs are false and/or maladaptive some clients can still feel and
behave according to their past beliefs. Sometimes the habits of maladaptive thinking
are so strong and automatic prior to therapy that clients tend to persist in them until
new thinking habits become stronger and more generalized through repeated practice.

5. Effective Ways of Responses (E): E stands for the effects of changing one's
interpretation of a situation. If REBT is effective, a person loses their symptoms of
anxiety or distress and sees a situation differently (something other therapists
call cognitive restructuring). Ideally the client now takes practical action to solve the
problem or has a less troublesome reaction to the situation. This also recognizes that
thinking, feeling and acting are interactive and often simultaneous processes that
cannot be entirely separated. Accordingly, it’s effort to minimize or eradicate
irrational beliefs, reduce upset, and foster a more rational and fulfilling lifestyle.
 APPLICATIONS

1. REBT has been also applied to domains other than mental health.
2. REBT application to the educational field has generated rational emotive education
3. The work environment has generated rational effectiveness training (or REBT
coaching)
4. Pastoral field has generated rational pastoral counselling.
5. A new emerging and developing field is that of using REBT in genetic counselling.

LIMITATIONS

1. The various studies testing the REBT theory was that many researchers
misunderstood the basic REBT theory. For example, some researchers conceptualized
rational beliefs as low levels of irrational beliefs, which is a misunderstanding of the
theory
2. REBT has all the limitations of a scientific approach to mental health
3. REBT has not clarified the mechanisms involved in various mental disorders.
4. REBT has been affected by severe misrepresentations in the scientific literature and
thus, a large part of its scientific potential is still underused
5. The REBT reduction of pathogenic and/or sanogenic mechanisms to a few core
cognitive processes is similar to the reduction operated in neurosciences, where
hundreds of mental disorders are related to just a few classes of neurotransmitters and
their relations.

REFERENCES
1. Dryden, Windy (2004) “Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy: Theoretical
Developments” Sussex: Brunner Routledge Publications
2. Craighead, Edward; Weiner, Irving (2010) “The Corsini Encyclopaedia of
Psychology” (4th Edition) Canada: John Wiley & Sons Publications
3. A., Jorn. (2009). Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy | Psych Central. Retrieved July
16, 2016, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy/
 IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

Name : Manpreeth

Gender : Female

Languages Known : Hindi, English

Occupation : Student

Education : Post Graduation

Informant : Self

Presenting Problem : “I’m really scared of cement mixers”

History of the Presenting Problem

She is trying to deal with her phobia for a very long time and has no memory of its
origination other than the dreams she gets at times. She finds it difficult to manage it and is
unable to get over it as she only prefers avoiding it. She is only fearful towards cement
mixers and fears that the screws will loosen and fall out and kill her eventually by rolling her
over the road. However, she seems to like the fork lifters. There is a consistent fear regarding
this but it does not seem to affect her daily routine. Although she finds it difficult to
overcome the fear and chooses to only avoid the situation.
 VERBATIM

Statement
Therapist/Client Statement Process Comments
Number
T1 Hi Rapport Building
C1 Hi
T2 What's your name? Rapport Building
C2 I'm Manpreeth
T3 Where are you from? Rapport Building
C3 I'm born and bought up, in Bangalore.
T4 Okay, What do you do Manpreeth? Rapport Building
I'm right now studying. I'm completing my masters, in a
C4
college.
T5 Uh, okay so, are you comfortable talking in English? Rapport Building
C5 Yes I am.
T6 Is it okay if I record the conversation? Rapport Building
C6 No, I'm completely fine.
T7 Okay, so what brings you here Manpreeth? Rapport Building
I have this really frightful fear, is that even a word? Umm.
C7 Activating Event
I'm really scared of cement mixers.

Exploration of the
T8 Okay, umm. So, can you like elaborate on that?
problem

Yeah. Umm. You know whenever I'm walking on the street

and there's one standing on the opposite side of the road, I'm
walking and when there's one just passing by me, I'm just Emotional
C8
like, or when I'm in the middle of the traffic and there's one Consequence
that comes and stands next to me, my heart really starts
palpitating. My heart really starts beating really fast.

Okay, so umm, when do you think this started? Like, when Exploration of the
T9
did it start? problem

I don't remember the exact time when it started, it's very

C9 hard to say but as far as I can remember, I think I've always
had it. Yeah.
 Exploration of the
T10 Ever since your childhood?
problem
C10 Yes, as far as I can tell.
T11 Okay, so umm.

Yeah, I've always had this feeling that the screws of the big
C11 roller thing on the cement mixers are going to come off and Belief System
gonna roll me down on the road.

T12 Okay so you're scared of, being rolled down and killed Paraphrasing

C12 Killed by cement mixers

Okay (pause) Okay, so what has been umm. So umm when

T13 you see a cement mixer on the road, what is your reaction to
it? How do you react?

I tend to run away from it. I don't face it at all. Like by

chance if someone tries to force me to, my friends think it's
very funny, making me going and standing next to a cement
Emotional
C13 mixer when I'm on a bike or a car, my friends think it's very
Consequence
funny, but it's not. So I usually tend to either jump off the, or
walk away from the car or climb down the bike and walk
away or just bend towards the opposite side. Yes

T14 So you just avoid the situation completely?

I try avoiding it, but it's a big thing to avoid. Sometimes
C14
when you're really in front of it.

Okay, have you been in a situation where you're not able to

Exploration of the
T15 avoid it? What if you're in a situation where you're unable to
Problem
avoid the cement mixer?

If I'm in a situation or, I don't know, I think I would pass out

C15
on the road. Yeah, I think I would definitely do that.

T16 Have you ever been in a situation like that before?

 No, not so far, but my BP really tends to go high, low, one of
that, and it feels like I'm passing out, even when I'm standing
next to it. Yeah like the other day, I was at traffic when we
were in the outskirts. Yeah, the other day we went to the
outskirts, like me and my boyfriend and we went on the
bike, and while coming back, we were stuck in traffic, I
think it was toward the dasarahalli side, yeah, so we were Emotional
C16
stuck toward the dasarahalli side and he, he wanted to uh, Consequence
you know help me get over my fear, and he stopped right in
between two things I really hate. He stopped between a
garbage truck and he stopped between a cement mixer. And
I climbed down the bike, I went on the footpath and I stood,
till the cement mixer moved away. So I don't think I've
really been in a situation where I can't avoid it.

T17 So, you've been avoiding this, ever since you can remember? Reflecting Feelings

C17 Hmm.
T18 Okay, umm. Do you realize that it is irrational?

C18 No, it's not irrational. There are tendencies. Think about it.

What is the possibility of you getting rolled down by a Disputing Irrational

T19
cement mixer? Thoughts and Beliefs
C19 Out of a 100? According to me, it's 70
T20 What?
C20 Yea, according to me it's 70%.
T21 SO, umm, how?

There are a lot of possibilities of the screws getting loose

C21
maybe when I'm standing next to it and it rolling me down.

According to you? Okay so have you ever come across such

Disputing Irrational
T22 a situation where something like this has happened, to
Thoughts and Beliefs
anybody else?

C22 In reality? No.

 So, is it okay to say that, there's probably no possibility to, Checking with the
T23
you know for it to kill you in any way? client

Maybe but, no not the screws loosening up but I think a

cement mixer can, the tires can roll down, maybe when I'm Emotional
C23
crossing the road. I was feeling that I would get killed by Consequence
one.

T24 So, you've dreamt about it?

C25 I have a few times.
T25 So, you've dreamt about it killing you

I've dreamt about the cement mixer, it's very frightening. Or

maybe it sounds a little silly, but I've also dreamt about Emotional
C25
someone I hate, kidnapping me and going and throwing me Consequence
inside a cement mixer where I get crushed into cement.

Also is that one of your fears? Being crushed in a cement Checking with the
T26
mixer? client

I think so. I think the entire cement mixer and getting killed
C26 by it and getting rolled by it. Everything about cement mixer
frightens me.

SO let's talk about umm, what are the other things? So, tell Deviation from the
T27
me about your routine, let's talk about that. Topic

C27 Routine, my daily routine?

T28 Yeah

Okay. Umm. I get up at 7am. I take bath obviously, do my

grooming. I do my daily grooming. No, no, before grooming
I feed my cat. Yeah I feed my cat and then I come upstairs I
do my grooming. I pick up my clothes, all the daily stuff. I
C28 eat my breakfast and then I wait for my friend to pick me up.
So she picks me up at around 8:30. So she picks me up I
come to college, I attend my classes, go back home, sleep for
an hour or two. Get up, do my assignments. If I can, I go out
with my boyfriend for dinner.
T29 So, what time do you sleep?
I sleep at, usually, I don't have a specific time, and it’s pretty
C29
later in the night, like let’s say 1:30-2.

Okay, so that's your daily routine? Okay, so what about, Deviation from the
T30
your hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time? topic

I love reading books, I love watching series. Yeah, right now

C30 I'm in this series called 'The Pretty Little Liars' and I
sometimes like listening to music. That's about it.

SO, have you tried? Umm, Does listening to music relax

T31
you?

When I'm around cement mixers, no. But otherwise yes.

Like by chance if I have stressed about something else. Like
if I have stress about getting down with my assignments or a Emotional
C31
fight with my mum, or if I have a fight with my boyfriend, Consequence
music does relax me. Music or reading a book does relax
me.

Okay, so have you tried doing something else and not paying Disputing Irrational
T32
attention to the cement mixer? Thoughts and Beliefs
C32 It's so big, how can you not pay attention to it?

Well, maybe when you're travelling you can think about

something else, or you can look at something else or you
T33
know, you can avoid it or you can pay attention to something
else.

I do try, but the jarring noise of the cement mixer. Yeah that
C33 always like, gets my attention. (Pause) But at the same time I
like the forks, the fork lifters.

T34 So, that's not something you're really scared of?

No, I like sitting on them and swinging around. I wish I
C34
could do that.

Disputing Irrational
T35 Okay, so do you realize that this is an irrational belief?
Thoughts and Beliefs
C35 Sometimes, yes. When I think about it in detail, yes.

Disputing Irrational
T36 Okay, so Are you willing to get out of it?
Thoughts and Beliefs
C36 I'd love to. Yes I do want to get out of it.
Okay, so have you tried doing anything about coming out of Disputing Irrational
T37
it? Thoughts and Beliefs
C37 Nope.

Okay, so let's do something okay. Let's talk about it first.

You've told me what about it you hate, and you told me why
you hate it, you've even told me how it's going to affect you,
Paraphrasing and
and it makes sense to you. It's completely appropriate to you,
T38 checking with the
but umm, have you thought about how it's umm, necessary
client
for umm, you know the number of buildings that are being
developed and you can't really change the fact that there
can't be no cement mixers around you?

C38 True. Cement mixers are always going to be around.

Yeah, so you know, you can't do anything about them but

you can do something about yourself right? So since you do
Disputing Irrational
T39 realize that it's an irrational behaviour and you told me that
Thoughts and Beliefs
you cope with the behaviour by avoiding it. So, how do you
feel after that, after you avoid it?

I don't feel like I've conquered anything. Sometimes I do feel Cognitive and
C39 good like momentarily, but temporary basis, I do feel really Emotional Effects of
timid. Revised Beliefs

T40 Do you feel relaxed after avoiding it?

Cognitive and
C40 After avoiding it, for that moment, yes. Emotional Effects of
Revised Beliefs

T41 But you say the fear seems to come back again.
 Cognitive and
Yeah I mean when I'm facing it again. Then I'm worried
C41 Emotional Effects of
again and I get freaked out again.
Revised Beliefs

T42 So you do feel relaxed after avoiding it?

C42 Yes.
T43 Okay. So would you like to say something else?
C43 No. Thank you for hearing me out.
T44 Okay bye Closing Session
C44 Bye

Consolidated Report
The client is 21 years old and is currently pursuing her 2nd year MSc Psychology. The client
was appropriately dressed and didn’t find it difficult in opening up. She was aware of her
reality and did not have any cognitive distortions other than her fear of cement mixers. She
didn’t keep eye-contact at times and would look down while talking. She was stammering
while narrating her story and this seemed she was not 100% true. There were also signs of her
eye movements going left when she spoke which could be interpreted as she was lying
regarding her fear. The rapport was built well initially, which encouraged the client to speak
further and open up in a short period of time. The problem that existed was that she feared
cement mixers.

Introspective Report
Since the therapist was prepared with what I needed to speak about regarding the ABCDE
analysis with the client, it was relatively easy to understand the identification aspect of the
various components of REBT. However, it went on smoothly as I had prepared a little script
regarding the experiment, so it was easy for the flow in the conversation to take place. There
were times where I went speechless, but then once the components were identified, the
session went on plainly. The problem was regarding a phobia which is an irrational fear, and
that is not very common amongst people, it was somewhat difficult at some point to relate
with the client and identify an approach. However, since I have a fear of water which is a
very irrational belief too, so I could easily relate and introspect on my fear and irrational
beliefs as well.